Flames crush Crusaders, host Green Bay Saturday

January 29, 2015

Terri Bender scored 13 points Tuesday. Photo: Steve Woltmann

The women’s basketball team (13-6, 3-3 Horizon League) evened its Horizon League record Tuesday with a 60-42 home victory over Valparaiso (4-15, 0-6 Horizon League). The Flames swept the season series with the Crusaders.

The Flames host Green Bay at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Pavilion. Students are free with i-card; employees can receive free tickets to Saturday’s game through a special promotion by emailing kdecker2@uic.edu by 5 p.m. Friday.

UIC is off to the program’s second-best 19-game start in the Division-I era (1981-present). UIC limited Valpo to 29 percent shooting and 16 field goals. The Crusaders were 5-of-24 in the first half and were held scoreless for 10:23.

“Both offenses struggled in the first half but our defensive pressure kept us in the lead,” head coach Regina Miller said. “We shot much better in the second half and our continued effort on the defensive side of the floor allowed us to pull away late.”

Ruvanna Campbell collected her third straight double-double and 14th overall with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Campbell, who ranks third nationally with 14.2 rebounds per contest, was 9-of-16 from the field. She picked up four steals.

Terri Bender scored 13 points for her ninth straight double-figure performance. She was 2-of-7 from downtown and dished out a team-high six assists.

Melita Emanuel-Carr added 13 points for her third double-digit effort over the last four games. She drained her team-high 27th three-pointer and was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Valparaiso jumped out to a 5-2 lead following Dani Franklin’s three-pointer at 18:22. The Crusaders made one field goal over the next 12:13 as the Flames used a 17-2 run to take a 19-7 lead with 4:57 left before halftime.

UIC had a 24-15 lead at halftime and Valpo got as close as 28-24 on Abby Dean’s three-pointer at 15:04 in the second half. With their lead at 33-28, the Flames went on a 12-2 run to go up 45-30 and put the game out of reach.